When people feel comfortable in a space, they are more likely to visit.

With this in mind, the Aboriginal Mental Wellness team has been looking at ways to make spaces that provide mental health and substance use services more welcoming and culturally safe.

Conversations with Aboriginal partners, clients, families, and care providers have shown us there are a number of ways we can create welcoming spaces and improve the quality of care for Aboriginal people.

We are IH is a recognition campaign to spotlight Interior Health employees and medical staff – through pictures and stories. 

Name: Lauren Hristoski

Worksite: Kelowna Community Health Centre 

Years of Service: 5

Job Title: Manager of Career Marketing, Human Resources

Hospitals across B.C. are displaying white trees this year. On them, you'll see ornaments and photos of people of all ages. These ornaments might remind you of your own family mementos. The difference is the people in these photos are no longer with us. Their lives were lost to overdose.

It's no secret that the pandemic has taken a big toll on the morale of health-care workers.

During the early weeks of COVID-19, staff and physicians at Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson were really feeling the pressure of the changes to their daily practice. The usually friendly and cooperative team was dealing with a sense of fear and uncertainty about what lay ahead.